Concerts of Thursday, April 10 and Friday, April 11, 2014, at 8:00p, and Sunday, April 13, 2014, at 2:00p

Transcription

1 Concerts of Thursday, April 10 and Friday, April 11, 2014, at 8:00p, and Sunday, April 13, 2014, at 2:00p Donald Runnicles, Conductor Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, Oboe Richard Strauss ( ) Metamorphosen, A Study for 23 Solo Strings (1945) Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra in D Major (1945) I. Allegro moderato II. Andante III. Vivace Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, oboe Intermission Ludwig van Beethoven ( ) Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Opus 92 (1812) I. Poco sostenuto; Vivace II. Allegretto III. Presto; Assai meno presto IV. Allegro con brio

2 Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer Richard Strauss was born in Munich, Germany, on June 11, 1864, and died in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on September 8, Metamorphosen, A Study for 23 Solo Strings (1945) The first performance of Metamorphosen took place at the Tonhalle in Zürich, Switzerland, on January 25, 1946, with Paul Sacher conducting the Zürich Collegium Musicum. Metamorphosen is scored for ten violins, five violas, five cellos and three double-basses. Approximate performance time is twenty-eight minutes. First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: May 12, 13 and 14, 1977, Robert Shaw, Conductor. The final decade of Richard Strauss s long and productive life was, in many ways, the most difficult. Along with the kinds of challenges often encountered in later years, Strauss witnessed the destruction of his native Germany as World War II reached its devastating conclusion. In time, Strauss and his wife, Pauline, left their home in Garmisch, and sought refuge in Switzerland. Nevertheless, Strauss s last decade proved to be a remarkably creative period, one affectionately referred to as the composer s Indian Summer. During the 1940s Strauss produced several marvelous works, including the opera Capriccio (1942), the Second Horn Concerto (1942), the Oboe Concerto (1945) (see, below), and the Four Last Songs (1948). Perhaps the crowning glory of Strauss s Indian Summer is Metamorphosen, subtitled A Study for 23 Solo Strings. In the summer of 1944, the Swiss conductor, Paul Sacher, commissioned Strauss to write a new piece for his Zürich Collegium Musicum. Strauss began the Sacher commission in August and September of that year. Strauss wrote to his friend, conductor Karl Böhm: I have been working for some time on an Adagio for some 11 solo strings, which will probably develop into an Allegro so that I don t drag it out too long in Brucknerian fashion. Strauss continued work on the new piece until October, when he set it aside. The composer turned his attention to other projects, and did not return to the Sacher commission until January. On March 13, 1945, Strauss began the full score, finally completing Metamorphosen in Garmisch on April 12. During this period, Germany was under constant, blistering attack from the Allied forces. On October 2, 1943, the Allies bombed the Opera House in Munich, the city of Strauss s birth. Strauss lamented: the destruction of the Munich Court Theater, where (Richard Wagner s) Tristan and Meistersinger were first performed, where 73 years ago I first heard (Carl Maria von Weber s) Freischütz, where my dear father was

3 first horn player for 49 years is the greatest catastrophe of my life. There is no consolation and, at my age, no hope. In response to the bombing of Munich, Strauss composed a few bars of music he entitled Trauer um München ( Mourning for Munich ). The descending melodic line and dotted rhythms of Mourning for Munich foreshadow the central theme of Metamorphosen. On September 1, 1944, Joseph Goebbels closed all of the German opera houses and theaters. Strauss wrote to his friend, Rudolf Hartmann: Since the 1 st September my life is at an end; it would have been best if the great geniuses of Olympus had called me to them on the 17 th August! (the day after the first performance, in Salzburg, of Strauss s opera, Die Liebe der Danae). On February 12, 1945, Allied bombs devastated the city of Dresden. The Royal Opera House, where many of Strauss s greatest operas received their premieres, now lay in ruins. Strauss wrote: I am in despair. The Goethehaus (in Frankfurt), the world s greatest sanctuary destroyed! My lovely Dresden Weimar Munich, all gone! On March 12, the day before Strauss began work on the full score of Metamorphosen, the Vienna State Opera House was bombed as well. Strauss attempted to find solace in the works of Goethe. As Strauss told a visitor: Now that I am old myself I will be young again with Goethe and then once again old with him in his way, with his eyes. For he was a man of the eye he saw what I heard. Goethe frequently used the term metamorphosis, both in reference to his own artistic development, and in the titles of works such as Metamorphosis of Plants (1790) and Metamorphosis of Animals (1819). The premiere of Strauss s Metamorphosen took place in Zürich on January 25, 1946, with Paul Sacher conducting. The dress rehearsal was held the prior evening. Strauss attended the rehearsal, and asked Sacher if he could conduct. By all accounts, the composer gave a magnificent reading of the score many view as his most personal and heartfelt work. Richard Strauss thanked all of the players and quietly left the theater. He did not return for the premiere. Musical Analysis Metamorphosen opens with a brooding theme in the cellos and double-bass (Adagio ma non troppo). The fourth and fifth violas then play a descending, dotted-rhythm theme, marked piano and espressivo. Strauss confessed that this central theme escaped from his pen. Its kinship with the music of another great German composer becomes clear in Metamorphosen s concluding measures. Additional themes follow, suggesting memories of other works, both by Strauss and his predecessors. The central section presents various permutations of the thematic material, with rich, contrapuntal writing for the various strings. The music propels to a stirring climax, immediately followed by the ensemble s fortissimo reprise of the opening (Adagio, tempo primo). The energy of the central portion subsides, leading to Metamorphosen s despairing, pianissimo resolution. In the closing measures, cellos and basses intone the opening measures of the second

4 movement Funeral March of Ludwig van Beethoven s Symphony No. 3, the Eroica (1804). Under the Beethoven quotation, Strauss wrote the words IN MEMORIAM! Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra in D Major (1945) The first performance of the Oboe Concerto took place in Zurich, Switzerland, on February 26, 1946, with Marcel Saillet as soloist and Volkmar Andreae conducting the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. In addition to the solo oboe, the Concerto is scored for two flutes, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns and strings. Approximate performance time is twenty-six minutes. First ASO Classical Subscription Performances: October 22, 23 and 24, 1992, Jonathan, Dlouhy, Oboe, John Nelson, Conductor. Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: March 4, 5 and 6, 1999, Jonathan Dlouhy, Oboe, Yoel Levi, Conductor. Richard Strauss was not particularly hospitable to American troops occupying Germany at the close of World War II. Soldiers who approached Strauss s Garmisch villa were met by the greeting: I am the composer of Rosenkavalier; leave me alone. Strauss made an exception for the American GI, John de Lancie ( ). In civilian life, de Lancie was then an oboist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. De Lancie later became Principal Oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Following his retirement from the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1977, John de Lancie was named Director of the Curtis Institute. In an article written for The Double Reed, John de Lancie recalled: My meeting with Strauss took place at his home in Garmisch- Partenkirchen, Germany, a few days after the end of World War II...I spent three days in Garmisch and visited the Strauss home both afternoon and evening of each day. Strauss spoke excellent French so I was able to have direct conversations with him. During one such conversation I spoke of the glorious lyric solos for the oboe in many of his works and asked if he had ever thought of writing a concerto for oboe, to which he replied No, and that appeared to be the end of the subject. I was to learn three months later from an article in the South Pacific edition of the Stars and Stripes (the U.S. Armed Forces newspaper), sent to me by my brother who was then in the South Pacific in the Navy, that (Strauss) was in fact working on a concerto for oboe as a result of a suggestion from an American soldier from Chicago (this is in the inscription in his hand on the title page of the manuscript, a complete copy of which is in my possession). In the fall of 45 Strauss moved to Switzerland. In December I received a card from Strauss inviting me to the world premiere to take place in Zurich. I had been overseas since May of 1943 and was scheduled to

5 return home in January. Any change in these orders would have caused an indeterminate delay. I was anxious to return home and to my career with the Pittsburgh Symphony, so I regretfully declined. Strauss completed the short score of his Oboe Concerto on September 14, 1945, while still in Garmisch. By the time Strauss finished the orchestration six weeks later, he and Pauline had moved to Baden, Switzerland. The February 26, 1946 premiere of the Oboe Concerto took place in nearby Zurich. The soloist was Marcel Saillet, accompanied by the Concerto s dedicatees, conductor Volkmar Andreae and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. The Concerto, scored for a modest accompanying orchestra of English horn, pairs of flutes, clarinets, bassoons and horns, and strings, is in three continuous movements. Musical Analysis I. Allegro moderato The opening movement begins with a sixteenth-note passage in the cellos, a recurring motif throughout the Concerto. The soloist enters with a beautiful and demanding exposition that spans almost 60 measures, without pause. A tutti follows, after which the orchestra presents a second group of themes. The first is a nostalgic, sighing melody that opens with three repeated notes, and recalls the spirit of such works Strauss s opera Der Rosenkavalier (1911). A playful sequence featuring the soloist in dialogue with other members of the orchestra immediately follows. A development and recapitulation of the principal themes ensue. A reprise of the opening sixteenth-note cello motif serves as a transition to the Concerto s slow movement, which follows without pause. II. Andante The cello motif, coupled with the opening three notes of the Rosenkavalier theme, serve as accompaniment to the soloist s cantabile presentation of the principal melody. Echoes of thematic material from the opening movement return, followed by a reprise of the Andante s chief melody. The accompaniment figure that began the Andante is interrupted by a forte statement of a portion of the principal melody. The soloist incorporates that melody into an extended cadenza, punctuated by string pizzicatos. A final bravura ascending passage signals the finale. III. Vivace The soloist launches the rondo finale s syncopated, tripping principal melody. Particularly notable among the various contrasting sections is a variation of the Rosenkavalier theme, first introduced by the soloist in duet with the English horn, and repeated by the ensemble. A brief cadenza leads not (as expected) to the final coda, but to a genial Allegro episode, in 6/8 time. The true coda (Tempo primo) offers a short restatement of the main rondo theme, followed by a brief downward flourish by soloist and orchestra. Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Opus 92 (1812) Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn, Germany, on December 17, 1770, and died in Vienna, Austria, on March 26, The first performance of the Seventh Symphony took place in the Hall of the University of Vienna on December 8, 1813,

6 with the composer conducting. The Symphony No. 7 is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings. Approximate performance time is thirty-eight minutes. First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: October 26, 1947, Henry Sopkin, Conductor. Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: February 17, 18 and 19, 2011, Jaap van Zweden, Conductor. Vienna s Court Mechanician The fall of 1812 marked the beginning of the end of Napoleon Bonaparte s domination of Europe. In October of that year, Napoleon and his troops were forced to retreat from Moscow when the Russians deserted, and then burned, their Holy City. On June 21, 1813, the forces of Sir Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, soundly thrashed Napoleon s army at Vitoria. On August 12, Austria declared war on France. Napoleon then suffered a major defeat on October 16 in the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig. Emotions ran high throughout Europe including Ludwig van Beethoven s Vienna, a city that had suffered great hardship under Napoleon s relentless pursuit of French omnipotence. By the time of these events, Beethoven had befriended Johann Nepomuk Maelzel ( ). Maelzel, an inventor and tireless self-promoter, was known as the Court Mechanician of Vienna. Maelzel had created several ear trumpets to help Beethoven cope with his ever-increasing deafness. Maelzel also fashioned numerous musical devices, such as The Musical Chronometer, a predecessor to his own metronome. Other Maelzel inventions included the Mechanical Trumpeter and the Panharmonicon devices that could reproduce the sounds of various orchestral instruments. In celebration of Napoleon s Russian defeat, Maelzel produced an elaborate animated musical spectacle, The Conflagration of Moscow. After Wellington s triumph in Vitoria, Maelzel approached Beethoven with the idea of composing a celebratory piece featuring the Panharmonicon. Beethoven responded with Wellington s Victory. Maelzel then suggested that Beethoven create an orchestral adaptation of Wellington's Victory for presentation in a series of gala concerts that would also include a new Symphony by the esteemed composer. Beethoven, who had been working on his Seventh Symphony during the previous two years, enthusiastically agreed. The first of these concerts, held on December 8, 1813, at the grand Hall of the University of Vienna, was presented for the benefit of wounded Austrian and Bavarian soldiers. Beethoven himself served as conductor. Beethoven on the Podium Because of Beethoven s participation in the concert and its philanthropic mission, Maelzel was able to convince several of Vienna s eminent musicians to play in the Orchestra. Ignaz Schuppanzigh, leader of Count Razumovsky s quartet, served as first violinist. Antonio Salieri cued the drums and salvos. Among the percussionists were Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Ignaz Moscheles and Giacomo Meyerbeer (although Beethoven complained that Meyerbeer always entered after the beat!).

7 Another violinist at the December 8, 1813 concert was composer Louis Spohr, who offered this colorful description of Beethoven as conductor: Often as I had heard of it, it surprised me extremely. He was accustomed to convey the marks of expression to the band by the most peculiar motions of his body. Thus at a sforzando he tore his arms, which were crossed before on his breast, violently apart. At a piano he crouched down, bending lower the softer the tone. At the crescendo he raised himself by degrees until at the forte he sprang up to his full height; and without knowing it, would often at the same time shout aloud. Despite this unorthodox podium manner and the difficulties that must have been posed by Beethoven s impaired hearing, the concert proved to be one of the great public triumphs of the composer s career. The audience cheered Wellington s Victory and insisted upon an encore of the Seventh Symphony s Allegretto. By popular demand, the entire concert was repeated four days later, raising another 4,000 florins for the wounded soldiers. Quite ripe for the madhouse Still, Beethoven s reliance upon the briefest of rhythmic motifs often presented with relentless, and even frightening energy inspired some negative reactions. Musician Friederich Wieck, father of Clara Wieck Schumann, attended the first rehearsal of the Beethoven Seventh. Wieck recalled that the general consensus among musicians and laymen alike was that Beethoven must have composed the Symphony, particularly its outer movements, in a drunken state ( trukenen Zustande ). Carl Maria von Weber, after hearing the Symphony for the first time, reportedly stated that Beethoven was now quite ripe for the madhouse. On the other hand, Richard Wagner, in one of the most famous appraisals of a Beethoven Symphony, hailed the finale as the apotheosis of the dance. Two centuries after its premiere, Beethoven s Seventh continues to captivate and amaze audiences with its irrepressible momentum and dramatic fire. It remains one of the most powerful symphonic creations. Musical Analysis I. Poco sostenuto; Vivace The opening movement begins with the most ambitious slow introduction (Poco sostenuto) of any Beethoven Symphony. At the conclusion of the introduction, the flute offers premonitions of the central theme, and then launches the Vivace with a full statement of that initial subject a sprightly dance melody in 6/8 time. After a brief pause, the entire orchestra joins in a festive proclamation of the main theme. The subsidiary themes and ensuing development indeed the entire Vivace are based upon the dotted eighth/sixteenth/eighth-note motif that is the nucleus of the principal theme. Another dramatic pause leads to a coda that builds to a stunning finish. II. Allegretto A foreboding chord in the woodwinds and horns introduces an equally ominous march figure, played by the violas, cellos and bases. The tension increases during a series of variations that ultimately erupt in a fortissimo orchestral outburst. Following a diminuendo, a contrasting lyrical section appears, prominently featuring the winds. After a varied reprise of the principal sections, a brief coda offers fragments of the march figure, capped by a reprise of the opening chord.

8 III. Presto; Assai meno presto The scherzo (Presto) begins with a forte orchestral outburst, immediately followed by a quicksilver figure in the winds and strings. Various sections of the orchestra engage in lively dialogue, as the scherzo grows in power. The trio section (Assai meno presto) begins in far more tranquil fashion, but soon moves to a grand statement as well. The scherzo and trio sections repeat, but what initially appears to be a third statement of the trio is truncated by five brusque fortissimo chords. IV. Allegro con brio The finale is a miraculous combination of academic structure (sonata form) and Dionysian abandon. After a brief, fortissimo introduction, the first violins launch into the scurrying principal theme of the finale. The subsidiary themes (a descending phrase and a skipping motif, both introduced by the first violins), while offering some contrast, do little to slow the breathless pace. It is not until the terse final measures that the whirlwind of activity comes to a stunning halt.